Low-light plants on their way, please advise.

TrickyD119

TrickyD119

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Jan 25, 2005
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Auburn, AL
I have a 29g that just completed its fishless cycle and now has a moderate community in it. I’ve ordered an assortment of low-light plants that should be arriving in the next few days… They are as follows (names as given by the online store)…

2 Anubias Barteri Reg
2 Anubias Nana Reg
2 Java Fern
2 Bolbitis Heudelotii
2 Cryptocoryne Blassi
1 Anubias Show

I currently have standard gravel substrate, a single 20w Life-Glo II bulb and a bottle of FloraPride laying around that a LFS sold me months ago. This setup kept a sword of some sort looking fantastic in my other 29g, but I figure adding a significant number of more plants might be a bit different.

I’m not looking for my plants to grow quickly or anything fancy, I just want them to stay alive and look good. If I order some Flourish and Flourish Excel and keep my light on roughly 12 hours a day can I expect to keep my plants alive?

If not, what is the minimum I need to do for what I’m looking to accomplish? Thanks!
 
You will have very slow growth due to two things. All of the plants you've ordered are slow growing plants, and your lighting is about 1/2 what is required for a low light tank. Two watts/gal. in a 29 is, IMO low light due to the depth(top to bottom) of the tank. This creates a lot of space for the light to travel to get through the water to the plants. Your plants are indeed 'low light plants', but will probably not do too well with 'minuscule light' ( made that term up).
I suggest that you up your lighting to 50 - 60 watts NO(regular fluorescent) or 40 - 50 watts CF(compact fluorescent) if you want to achieve your goal.
In that environment you may not have to dose much of anything, depending on your fish load.
I believe that with what you have, yes you can 'keep them alive', but just barely. Adjusting your lighting to the above level(s) would put you into the area that you say you'd like to attain, and your plants will like you for it:).

Len
 
Thanks for the reply djlen and superjohnny.

As far as the ahsupply.com one goes, I'm not a very handy do-it-yourself type, are they fairly easy to put together or am I better off buying something pre assembled? Also am I right in assuming the 1 x 55 watt Bright Kit™ is the one I’d want?

Finally, if I wanted to stick with regular fluorescent, how on earth do I go about getting 50-60 watts on there? I've tried using the search function to figure that out, but I'm obviously putting in the wrong terms :( All I ever seem to see are 20w bulbs and even with a dual light hood that'd only be 40w.
 
I would go with the 1 x 55 from AH. They can probably be re-fitted right into your existing hood and would be just perfect for your application.
Go back to the site(AH supply) and somewhere on the home page is a phone number.
Call it and ask for Kim. Tell him the inside dimensions of your existing hood and he will tell you if a 55 fixture will fit.
The kits are really not all that difficult to re-fit and look like they were made for the original hood. They come with easy to understand directions, come with everything needed included, and if you have questions Kim will walk you through the process or one of us will help.
To my knowledge, it is not possible to get 50 - 60 watts into your existing hood, but a 1 x 55 kit will probably go in. Call them and you'll find out.

Len
 
I just completed doing a retrofit kit for my 55 gal. an hour ago and it works great!...I highly recommend them. THe folks at AH were terrific to deal with and the kits shipped very quickly. I started with some cheap Top Fin hoods with 17 watt fluros and quickly learned that wasn't going to be enough to grow even low-light plants.

I'm reluctant to do much of anything related to DIY since I don't consider myself handy, but this worked just fine. Between the printed directions and the pictures on the website you shouldn't have any problems. If you can operate a drill, use a tape measure, and handle a screwdriver, you'll be in good shape.

My tank looks 10X better now. Can't wait for my plants to arrive.
 
Thanks for all of your replies... well you talked me into it!

I called and Kim answered and he told me that the 55 kit would indeed work for me.

[nevermind]Now before I place my order I have just one more question that I forgot to ask while on the phone...

Which bulb do I want? They have 5000k, 5500k, 6700k and 10000k and then Bright Blue, Deep Blue3 and 10000k Deep Blue3 combo.

Also even if I don't need the blue bulbs, what are they for?[/nevermind]

Thanks again!

[edit]Sorry for the nevermind part... Just read the bottom of the page and answered my own question.

Sounds like I personally would prefer the 6700k. Is there any reason that it would be beneficial to have the more dull light?[/edit]
 
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Both of the bulbs i just installed are 6700. Based on the description on their website I decided these wouldm give me the look I was after. I've also read that 6700 is a good range for growing plants.

All I can say is that I'm very pleased with how the tank looks. Good luck and let us know what you end up with.
 
What sort of magic did you do in the past couple of days? How did you cycle your tank so quick... do tell... did you try biospira?
 
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